. TUC to tackle states not paying minimum wage
Nigeria Labour Congress (NLC), yesterday, called for the extension of civil servants’ retirement age and years of service in the entire public service to 65.
NLC President, Joe Ajaero, who made the call during the 2023 Workers’ Day celebrations in Abuja, also sought a general review of core civil servants’ salaries to narrow the gap in other civil servants’ emoluments and those in other segments of the public service.
He said the extension of years of service should go round, as it had been done in other sectors of the public service in the country.
“Only few other establishments, including the core civil service, are now left out.
“We are, therefore, demanding that the age of retirement and length of service in the entire public service, including the civil service, be reviewed upward to 65 years of age and 40 years of service,” he said.
Ajaero noted that the union had, over the years, demanded for salary review but was yet to receive Federal Government’s attention.
“It is necessary to recall that we have continued over the years to demand that the salaries of core civil servants be beefed up to narrow the gap between their emoluments and those in other segments of the public service.
“They all possess the same educational qualifications and cognate experience on the job. So why the disparity?” Ajaero queried.
On gratuity payment, the NLC president said union leaders had, on several occasions, presented the issue to government without any positive response.
“Fellow comrades, we have consistently presented the issue of gratuity payment to the government but nothing has been done in that regard.
“As you are all aware, the concept of gratuity payment to employees is predicated on the fact that those who have laboured for public institutions or private enterprises are entitled to the proverbial golden handshake from their employers.
“Thus, gratuity is a monetary benefit given by an employer to his/her employee at the time of retirement without the worker making any financial contribution whatsoever to the fund,” he said.
He added that such a lump sum is meant to enable the retiree to finance any post-retirement endeavour of his/her choice.
“The Pension Act did not abolish gratuity payment and we demand its restoration in many public sectors where it has been stopped,” the labour leader said.
We are, therefore, demanding that the age of retirement and length of service in the entire public service, including the civil service, be reviewed upward to 65 years of age and 40 years of service.
Minimum wage
Meanwhile, the Trade Union Congress (TUC) President, Festus Osifor, has warned that labour will soon come after “State governments that are yet to fully implement the 2019 national minimum wage law and owes arrears or salaries, pensions and allowances and actions against private companies nationwide that have turned their workplaces into platforms for lawlessness and the dehumanization of workers.”
He also decried impunity in workplaces and the actions of public sector employers as well as “the resumption and ramping up of the activities of kidnappers and bandits since after the election”
He equally challenged the Judiciary to purge itself of corruption, and also called for the review of the privatisation of the electricity sector, all of which he said must be tackled speedily.
Social investments
President Muhammadu Buhari, represented by the Secretary to the Government of the Federation, Boss Mustapha, said his administration in a bid to create jobs and get Nigerians engaged, have launched several initiatives and programmes.
They include the National Enterprise Development Programme, the Youth Entrepreneurship Support Programme, the Nigerian Social Investment Fund, and the National Technology Development Programme.
“These programmes were designed to create jobs, provide training and skills development, and support small and medium-sized enterprises,” which he said “are worthy of note.”
He called on the incoming administration to continue to engage the organised labour positively to entrench industrial harmony in the country.
The Minister of Labour and Employment, Chris Ngige, claimed these social investments are currently the largest of such programmes in Africa and one of the largest in the world.
He noted adding that the National Social Register of Poor and Vulnerable Nigerians (NSR) now has 32.6 million persons from more than 7 million poor and vulnerable households, identified across 708 Local Government areas, 8,723 wards, and 86,610 communities across the 36 states in the country and the Federal Capital Territory (FCT).
